


Quest for an Angel

by Kaylachan1990, Munchiek



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Jercico - Freeform, M/M, POV Alternating, Rating May Change, Slow Build, Threesome - M/M/M, but pt 2 will definitely get more in depth with the three-way relationship!!, pt one is Mostly Jercy due to circumstance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2015-04-02
Packaged: 2018-03-03 23:37:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2892281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaylachan1990/pseuds/Kaylachan1990, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Munchiek/pseuds/Munchiek
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jason and Percy are called to Camp Jupiter to help out, they hadn't expected to come to face with several problems all at once. </p>
<p>With mysteries abound and a chilling prophecy coming to light, the two set off on a long journey without a single clue to lead them along their way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Our Journey Begins.

**Author's Note:**

> K: So welcome to this story, it's sort of a project to show our love for these boys I guess you could say?  
> M: Yep, a pet project to see how well we can write them together too. Seems like it went well for us so far, didn’t it?  
> K: I think so, we seem to be on the same page with them so it flows good, so.. Enjoy the fic, there will be more to come, no worries.  
> M: Oh yes! Keeping this short, we hope you guys will love it as much as we loved writing it so far! Now onward!

“So, why don’t you like Marvel again? I mean, it’s just a bunch of movies. Amazing movies, but still.” Percy asked, glancing over his 3DS XL at the upside-down view of the Son of Jupiter with his own console lying on the bed next to his own. Yes, the green eyed male was the one who wasn’t in a proper upright position. But hey, it’s more fun hanging over the edge of his bed. Okay?

 

"I just can't get into it, there are too many, and I don't understand the order," Jason shrugged as he glanced up from the game as well. "Are you willing to deal with my confusion on those aspects?" he asked before looking back to the game and choosing a move in the game Percy was teaching him. "Gods... I’m almost out of being able to use the move that's been doing okay against you."

 

Percy smirked to himself at hearing that, moving to K.O. the Pokémon Jason was using before sticking his tongue out at him. After that, he took a few more minutes to consider his response to the blond’s question.  
  


“Well, it’s really not that many though? There’s only like… maybe fifteen? And I think you’d probably like the Captain America movies or _something_. I mean Nico’s usually with me on them too, he’s watched at least half of them so far and I only showed him five. He watched the rest on his own. So you’re the only one out of the three of us that hasn’t even started to watch them. … And don’t even get me **started** on the Disney movies you still need to watch too.”

 

Jason just nodded as he tapped his stylus around, picking which Pokémon to use next. After he made a choice, that he would never admit was 'eenie meenied', he just sighed, "Alright I'll give Marvel a shot, but only if it's after he gets back from visiting Camp Jupiter, so we can all watch together," he paused then looked at Percy again, "And some Disney movies also, but not Hercules. I've heard it makes my dad seem... stranger."

 

“Aww, but that’s the best one!” Percy exclaimed, rolling to his stomach and settling more properly onto his bed. “Deal, but if Nico says you have to watch Hercules… it’s two against one, Dude. So you’re going to have to go along with it.” He adjusted and scrunched his nose at the Pokémon the blond had picked out. ‘ _Since when did he have that one?’_ He thought to himself as he swapped out his current guy for one that stood a better chance.

 

"Yeah man, I know. Majority rules. That's how I got stuck playing this game. Which I admit you are right about." Jason conceded then smirked up at him when noticed a look of annoyance on Percy's face. "What's the matter, Jackson? That scared of lightning even in a game?"

 

Percy made a great show of looking offended at that and gave a small noise of annoyance before tossing a pillow at the smirking blond. “Of _course_ not! Maybe I just wanted to kick your butt even more than I already have been, Pichu? Ever think of that?” He stated, thumping his chest and making a great show of it before he grinned and punched him in the arm."  
  


“Anyway... So we’re definitely watching Finding Nemo, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, the first Captain America movie, the first two Iron Man movies, Thor, and The Avengers.”

 

Jason just stared at him a moment and then shoved his shoulder, "Oh sure, that's exactly what you had in mind!" he laughed as he made his next move. "That's a long list of movies... maybe we should marathon this at your mom's place... then we won't have camp duties to interrupt it, plus more access to snacks."

 

Percy laughed as well before flicking his gaze back to the screen in front of him for a little bit. He hummed out something and then nodded in agreement. “Maybe we can take a weekend and not sleep Saturday night or something? Have a sleep over. Mom wouldn’t mind and we’d probably have a lot of fun. We could even see if Nico would play some party games with us, make it a mini party for no reason.” His green gaze lit in excitement at the thought as he looked over at Jason with a little ‘baby seal’ power thrown into it for good measure. “What do you say? Agreed?”

 

Jason stared at him for a minute then looked down, "Yeah sure, but don't word it like that, there is _no_ way Nico will agree to a slumber party," Jason teased, "Because that is definitely what you just made it sound like with that description.” He looked back down at his game to start forming another attack, "I'm not the best put pretty good for a new player huh?"

 

“I’ll commend you for being a beginner, yeah. But just so you know, Nico would probably annihilate you. I’ve been playing longer but he trains them better than I usually can and he refuses to tell me his secrets.” The raven gave a small pout as he admitted that, frowning a little deeper as he was forced to choose another member of his team as well.  
  


That was a lucky shot and nothing more.  
  


 “But yeah, I guess you could probably suggest it if you think my way of bringing it up would make him refuse.  Though he really seems to like the movies, especially four of the movies I just suggested.” Which _might_ have been part of the reason he thought of them in the first place.

 

Jason chuckled at Percy's pout, "The guy is surprisingly amazing at playing these games, we should give him a call later on. Maybe see how he is." He then thought over it, "Maybe when we bring it up, we just say it’s a two day long movie marathon with plenty of food and no camp?" he suggested as a better way. Nico was a lot more relaxed now, but still Jason wanted to be careful with his stubbornness.

 

“Uh-huh. I think it’s probably the Casino thing… though he seems to make a lot of PokéDollers too. So it might be a Hades kid thing as well.” Percy just shrugged and yawned a little. “Maybe we can send an IM after we finish our battle?” They were both down to three Pokémon at this point so it shouldn’t take too much longer to finish it.

 

"What, you think his dad's wealthy power effects his gameplay?" Jason asked, his eyes widening just a little, "That is so not fair." He tried to choose what was best to place out next, but nodded to Percy's response. "Yeah, maybe we can see if he's near anyone else and say hi to them as well."

 

“I heard he mainly hangs around Reyna, Hazel, and Frank. So he could be with one of them?” It’s been a while since either of them had been to Jupiter themselves, Annabeth had gone to college in New Rome and while she was his best friend… Percy had to admit it was still really awkward whenever he was around her.  
  


Things just never seemed to work out that well and the raven realized he really didn’t have a whole lot in common with the Daughter of Athena. The thoughts had his gaze cloud slightly and his demeanor kind of dropped a large fraction. Though he continued to play and select his moves despite that.

 

"Yeah, so hopefully we can talk to them," Jason nodded again. He looked up when Percy got silent, and smiled a bit sadly. He knew that look, he'd gotten it a few times since he and Piper parted ways as a couple. But they'd stuck closer then and there was no awkwardness there, so it was easier for him to be okay with it. "Okay, Percy! Watch my awesome trainer skills now!" he declared as he tried to snap him out of it. He proceeded to use a power he was sure Percy wasn't expecting from the Pokémon that was shown.

 

It took a few minutes.  
  


Percy still stuck in his thoughts over how badly a relationship he thought would last forever crumbled so easily, but he did snap from it quickly enough. He gave a small nod of thanks towards the blond and tried to feel a little more enthusiastic in their battle again. But it’s not that easy to immediately feel better, especially in the son of Poseidon’s case.  
  


It’s not that it was a particularly _bad_ break up, but the fact it had been such a shock and he was still realizing how many things that had actually been wrong about it as well. Things he never paid attention to when he should have. A light sigh left his lips then, giving a harder shake of his head and rubbing at his face some as he finally shot a small smile towards Jason to signal he was alright. “Sorry, Jay.”

 

Jason nodded, moving to sit beside him, "Alright Jackson, if you say so. So make your move and try to prove you are better at this then the newbie." He knew Percy would be alright, he'd always been one to bounce back, but it was like an unspoken rule among the closest friends to help him bounce back faster when he got this way. "We should also go try to see just how much junk food we can order up for our meal tonight, maybe spend all night leveling together to go against Nico."

 

“Yeah, you asked for it Grace.” Percy stated, butting against him with a playful elbow and moving to lean up against the headboard with his legs flat and stretched out comfortably. He hummed a bit, a light grin rising to his lips with his gaze returning to its normal and naturally brilliant emerald shade as he does so.

 

Jason snorted, but smiled when he saw Percy light up again. He stretched out like Percy but a bit of an angle; just enough so Percy couldn't see what he had planned on his game screen, and rested part of his body over Percy's legs. "Remember, I picked up on how to beat some of the gyms pretty quickly."

 

“I _guess_ but that doesn’t mean you’d beat me.” The raven grinned out with a light glance down at the warm weight resting over his legs. He just smiled a little and hunkered down even more to focus on his screen right after. He wouldn’t have cheated by looking at the blond’s screen anyway. Pokémon was something you always honored, no matter what.

 

Jason just laughed, "One day, I will beat you very easily. You know that, right?" He was teasing of course, but playing games like this always seemed more fun when there was a little banter between the players. When they were each down to one though… he realized it was one Percy hadn't pulled out yet, and really wished he'd have paid attention when it showed a preview of the other person's team.

 

Percy gave a wicked grin as soon as he snuck a look at Jason’s face for their very last round and quite proudly sent out his Lanturn. Jason was not going to win, especially when he knew what the blond’s last choice would be while the other had not yet seen his own final Pokémon. The little guy was the raven’s secret weapon and fondly named ‘Tyson’. Yeah, he took pride in his Cyclops younger brother. “Ready to lose, Sparky?”

 

Jason swallowed when he saw the Pokémon. 'Man, no way I can win this...' he thought to himself as he worked on it. "Okay so maybe that is a really strong one, but don't count me out," he tried to sound confident as he selected the most powerful attack out of the ones he had.

 

His grin widened at the attack, lips curving and a shake of his head as the electric attack was absorbed by his Lanturn’s ability. Doing _no_ damage, whatsoever. “Try again, Grace.” He hummed out, activating Aqua Ring and sitting back to wait on the next attack.

 

Jason grumbled, "Man, was hoping it would work again..." he muttered. He looked around, trying to find the next attack that he thought might work. But based on the last turn, this was not ending well for him at all. "Okay, take this!"

 

Percy just hummed and shook his head as the attack only did fractional damage which had some of it recovered by the Aqua Ring the Raven had just laid out. The shorter’s own attack missed but he hadn’t been aiming for a hit anyway. Not till next turn.

 

Jason put the game closer to his face to hide his frown, looking over his moves. He had another move that was a bit stronger, it was still a steel move... but it was better than nothing. He pushed the button, glanced at Percy, and hoped for the best results after.

 

It looked like that last move was a little faster and did do some damage, but Percy’s own attack of ‘Hidden Power: Ground’ pretty much ended it. It was four times effective and Jason had just begun where the raven had been playing for a while. Percy offered his hand for a shake, smiling at the blond lightly. “Good Game, for a beginner Jay.”

 

Jason saved his game and then closed it, flopping back onto the bed. But he was smiling. "Yeah, it was a good game. Next time I'll beat you for sure," he grinned as he turned to look at him. "Now come on, let's get up and go contact our shadowy friend."

 

Percy yawned before saving as well and setting the console aside to stand up. He cracked his arms and shoulders in a long stretch, scratched under his shirt, and then nodded to Jason. Stepping over to the fountain, the raven nabbed up a drachma to toss it into the stream of glittering water. “Nico di Angelo.”

 

Jason watched Percy a moment before following him over to the fountain. He stared into the water, as they waited for him to answer. "Hope he's not too busy, it's still early out th-," he cut himself off when he saw an image start to form in the water.

 

Percy nodded in agreement before showing a smile at the disgruntled looking son of Hades looking back at them from the shimmering rainbow.  
  


“What is it?” He questioned, looking between the two of them. He appeared to be a little hurried and not quite his usual content self whenever he usually went to spend some time with his sister in Jupiter.  
  


Percy was a little concerned.  
  


“We were just saying hi, right Jay?” He stated, shifting over so the blond had enough room to notice what he had. He’d ask about it but it seemed like the younger raven was more inclined to speaking with the roman whenever something seemed to be bothering him. So, regrettably, the green eyed teen let the taller handle getting it out of him.

 

Jason looked at Nico, trying to figure out what he had going on, "Yeah, we were talking about hanging out when you get back in a few weeks." He moved closer to the water, tapping Percy's arm to let him know he'd try to handle it. "What's going on Nico? You seem to be a bit stressed. Reyna got you doing a lot of work?"

 

Percy relaxed slightly at the tap on his arm, keeping a steady smile and listening as Nico turned more towards Jason in order to answer him.  
  


“No, it’s not that. It’s just…” The son of Hades sighed a little before running a hand through his hair as he seemed to think over how he wanted to explain it. He then glanced over his shoulder and appeared to wave someone over.  
  


“I’m just in a bit of a hurry. Things are a little chaotic around here. I’ll let Hazel explain, okay?” He stated, turning back to the message and glancing once at Percy before looking back to Jason.  
  


“Ask me about hanging out later too, but I seriously have to get going.” The younger finished off, nodding at Hazel before stepping out of view.  
  


Percy had to sigh; mildly frustrated over the fact that Nico was still just as hard to pin down as he ever was when they weren’t hanging out. He shook his head, rubbed his neck, and then looked to the IM once more where Hazel was waiting for their full attention. “So what’s going on?”

 

Jason blinked, "Alright Nico, see ya man..." he glanced over at Percy, looking worried before turning to greet Hazel. "It's good to see you Hazel, but please tell us what's happening."

 

Hazel nodded, glancing briefly toward the door as Nico left, "Yes, hello. Uhm sorry about Nico, he really is busy. He and Reyna are going to do patrol with some of the newer members here." She paused talking to yawn, "Frank and I just got off a double shift ourselves... its chaotic here. We're still low on numbers thanks to Octavian. Actually... Reyna and Frank were talking about asking you guys to come out here and help with something, but I don't know all the details. Do you think you could be out here by Friday?"

 

Percy glanced back at Jason a moment before listening to what Hazel was saying. That was concerning him too. If they have so many problems going on, it was no wonder Nico was busy and in so much of a hurry. He felt a little bad that they were keeping Hazel up but they had to know what was up.  
  


“Man, hopefully it’ll even out soon.” He responded, reaching to rub at his arm a little and looking to Jason again so they could exchange a glance before nodding to Hazel. “Yeah, no problem. Blackjack is still recovering but we could probably get another transport to head out there. We’ll start out first thing tomorrow morning. Is that alright?”

 

"Yeah, we'll talk to Chiron and get some things ready, we'll head that was soon, and help out however we can," Jason agreed. "We'll pack light so we can travel a bit faster; let the others know they can put us on any job needed."

 

Hazel smiled tiredly, clearly relieved, "Okay, thank you guys so much for this, we'll prepare rooming and things for you. We'll see you soon, I'm sure Nico, Frank, and Reyna will be glad as well."

 

Percy nodded in agreement and then stepped back to figure out what they might need. Better to do that than ask what he was considering at the moment. No need to go back there again today…  
  


“See you soon, Hazel.” He called over his shoulder as he did so, ducking under his bed to pull out a small duffel as soon as he pushed his prior thoughts back. It wasn’t the best questing material but it was the best he had for now.  
  


“Hey Jason, we should go talk to Chiron after we get the basic stuff. See if he could help us figure out transportation? … Do you think we should go visit Rachel too?” He had a feeling but he wasn’t too sure.

 

Jason nodded as he waved to Hazel when the connection cut, "Yeah, was thinking the same thing, something doesn't feel right, like the feeling we get before a quest." He leaned against the wall watching Percy for a moment, knowing he'd have to watch for him. "I'll go get my stuff up and we'll meet at the house in twenty minutes to discuss it with them?"

 

“Okay, and yeah… it really doesn’t. But…” He shook his head. “Yeah. I’ll see you over there, alright? I’ll head up as soon as I’m done getting stuff packed.” He paused again, an uncharacteristic uncertainty sweeping across his features as he looked back the taller teen. “Jason…” He trailed off, letting the implied question hang in the air as soon as he finished speaking. He was getting worried, and worry usually didn’t let him sleep all that well.

 

Jason nodded, walking over to him and clamping a hand on his shoulder, "Hey man, it'll be alright. This won't be some big world destroying quest okay?" He was trying to reassure him as best as he could. "Hey after we get this set up, this late I'm sure Chiron will want us to leave tomorrow, want me to hang out in here for the night? So we can plan our route out and things like that." Jason knew Percy would have nightmares that night most likely, so that was his way of offering without making Percy have to come out and bring it up.

 

Percy relaxed and nodded again. He knew it wouldn’t be that bad but it still made him wary. He was thankful for the offer as well, sweeping his bangs back into messier spikes while letting a slow breath go. The last quest had made a deep-reaching impact on the son of Poseidon, and he was grateful that he didn’t have to say much for one of his two best friends to offer staying with him when he needed it. “Sounds like an idea.” He managed a smile before nodding at the door. “Meet up in fifteen then?”

 

"Yeah, see you then," Jason waved as he headed to his cabin, thinking of maybe making an offering to his dad's statue for things to go okay. He just hoped everything would be alright until they got there. He sighed as he packed his own duffle, knowing this would be a long trip.

 

Percy, on the other hand, was busying himself to finish loading what he thought he might need on the trip into his duffle and trying not to think of what’s to come. He still had a bad feeling, even with Jason’s reassurance so it _had_ to be something big coming. Even if it wasn’t as big as the two great prophecies, it still seemed to be something that was going to have a pretty heavy impact on him. Maybe even on all three of them.

 

Jason tossed his bag on his shoulder, and headed to meet up with Percy, waving to a few friends as he passed them. He really hoped this wouldn't be a large thing. He'd be reassured after they talked to Chiron, he hoped at least. Leaning against the side of the house, he looked out at everything while he waited.

 

Percy didn’t take too much longer and packed his handheld as an afterthought before stepping out of his cabin and jogging over the green to make his way up to the big house. Catching sight of Jason, he waved and walked up beside him. “Alright, let’s go talk to him now. And then to Rachel.”

 

Jason nodded, and started walking with him inside. "Maybe he'll know more of what is going on then we will. I'm sure he's been in touch with them somewhat recently," he said as he knocked onto the door of Chiron's room, sure he'd be in there at this time of day.

 

Percy knocked as well before the door was opened and the two of them were greeted by the sight of the older male in his mortal guise rather than his full centaur form.

 

“Hello boys, what is it? Do you have anything you need to speak with me about?”

 

So it was pretty clear Chiron didn’t know anything yet. Percy shrugged and glanced at Jason before looking back to the teacher “Not much, Chiron. But it sounds like something is going on at Camp Jupiter and they’re shorthanded right now so…” He nodded at the blond for him to finish the explanation as he took a glance around the office.

 

Chiron, in turn, looked to the Roman in following Percy’s cue. His gaze expectant as he waited for the full story to come to light.

 

"Well we were talking to Nico, who was super busy, and then Hazel, and they need help out there so we were hoping to get transportation that way for a little while." Jason explained best he could, then paused. "But also, we _are_ a bit worried... ever since we heard this, it's seemed like… something is off? That's the best way to word it."

 

“I see, well. I’ll see about finding something for the two of you then. How soon are they expecting you there?” Chiron questioned, looking between the two of them calmly and considering what their best option was.

Percy, on the other hand, stretched a bit during the exchange and made the mistake of letting his mind wander. Soon enough he was beginning to feel a need to see Rachel as soon as they can. An assurance from her could possibly help him calm down enough to relax and sleep tonight, or at least he hoped it would.

 

"Hazel said by Friday if possible, so something a bit fast would be best. We'd take Blackjack, but he's still not at top shape." Jason suggested. "Any other pegasi or something with about that speed would be great I think, if you can get that of course."

 

“Well, I suppose you could take another pegasi but…” Chiron paused as Percy began to shake his head.

“It’s not that I don’t like the others, but… I’d feel kind of bad taking someone else while Blackjack is recovering. So I’d rather not take another Pegasi if that’s alright?” He stated, looking to Jason as he spoke. He then looked back at Chiron. “Is there another way?”

But Chiron seemed concerned and shook his own head. “Not anything that could get you there in two or three days, I’m afraid. Argus can only take you as far as the city and I don’t believe either of you have a driver’s license yet, do you?”

 

Jason shook his head, "No, we haven't gotten a chance to get them yet." Jason frowned, trying to think and then smiled when he got an idea. "Hey, how about we take Tempest? That might get us there fast enough right?" he asked looking between Percy and Chiron for confirmation.

 

Percy paled a little and looked a bit uncertain about it. But after a few moments, he sighed and rubbed at his neck. “Well, if it’s the best shot we’ve got… then I’ll have to take it. I just hope your Dad won’t get touchy that I’m flying with you on him.

Chiron nodded, accepting it as a wise decision despite the danger it may possess for Percy. If they had no other options then he’ll approve it and hope for the best. “You could try it as long as you both agree on it. Take some Ambrosia and Nectar before you leave. I also suggest you stop into the infirmary to get some bandages as well. In case any accidents may happen on your way there. Alright? I expect you’ll be leaving in the morning?”

 

"Don't worry, I already gave him an offering to look after us with this," Jason shrugged, then turned to Chiron. "Yeah, we are planning to leave first thing though, so we'll make sure to get all of that as soon as possible," he promised. "We plan to go speak with Rachel first, see if anything is up on her end."

 

The centaur nodded one more time in agreement. “A wise decision, very well... Good luck and I hope for the best for the two of you. Take care to sleep soon if you intend to leave as early as possible. Goodnight.” He finished with one last nod and turning to head back into the room.

Percy nodded back, looked to Jason and moved out towards the door. Next stop, the Apollo cabin seeing as it was on the way to Rachel’s cave and would probably be easier to stop now rather than after visiting Rachel. You never know.

 

Jason nodded a good night to Chiron, going with Percy, "Hopefully this works out easily and we can get everything before heading to see her." He adjusted his bag on his arm, following him to the medics, "Just hope they aren’t' to busy and can give us access pretty easily."

 

“Yeah.” Percy agreed, stepping up his pace to get to the Apollo cabin more quickly. “I kinda hope I’m just… we’re just being paranoid or something. But I donno.” He sighed quietly and shook his head. “Either way, let’s hurry so we can go see her and then get some sleep before tomorrow…”

 

"I'm sure that's all the problem is, don't worry," Jason said trying to reassure him as they got close to the Apollo cabin and knocked on it. "Thankfully since they are medics, these guys will hook us up just in case though..." To be honest Jason was getting more and more certain it wasn't simple.

 

The raven nodded and waited, giving a cursory nod as they’re greeted by Will. Percy may or may not have a faint grumpiness when faced with the son of Apollo and opted to keep the conversation short by asking him if there were any supplies the cabin could spare for a trip to Camp Jupiter in the morning. Hopping off the steps once the blond ducked back inside to check, the raven moved a few feet away and let Jason handle getting the last of their supplies.

 

Jason, a bit more mature on the subject, walked over with Will. He explained what they needed and mentioned they were heading to Rachel for a bit of advice. He was happy that Will seemed to get everything packed up and ready for them in a matter of minutes, bidding the two them good luck on their trip as he saw him out.

 

Percy scuffed his shoes while waiting until Jason finally came out of the cabin so they were able to set off towards Rachel’s cave without much of a hitch. It wasn’t a long walk and in no time they were at the beaded curtain that lead inside the redhead’s tricked out abode. He kind of liked it in all honesty; it really reminded him of Rachel’s personality whenever there was a need to step inside to see her. “Rachel? I’ve got a question. Does it look like anything weird is happening in the very near future?”

 

Rachel sighed and shook her head, "I'm sorry you guys, but you know these things just come and go as they want." She then looked at them thoughtfully, "As of now, don't worry too much about your feelings. But you've both always had good instincts… So, stay safe. But, I'm sure your journey will be fine."

 

Jason nodded, "I guess this is good news then, nothing too bad must be coming up if there is no prophecy." He tried to sound reassured but still… something was nagging at the back of his mind, however, he ended up pushing it away for now.

 

“Yeah.” Percy sighed himself and shook his head. “Well, thanks Rachel. Let us know if anything changes though. C’mon Jay, let’s head back and see about a plan for taking Tempest. Since I’m pretty sure he’s not going to be peaceful with me riding behind you.”

 

Rachel bid them a good trip and promised to update them when she had a change, but she seemed fine, so Jason was a bit less worried. He nodded then grinned to Percy, "Oh don't worry, he won't hurt you at least... but make sure you're not alone with him of course, when we aren't riding." It amused him how nervous Percy seemed about Tempest.

 

Percy scowled at him before sticking his tongue out at him. “Hey man, I talk with horses, not air spirits. Even if he takes a Horse form, he’s going to hate me no matter what.” He gave a sigh, attempting to be over dramatic before bumping Jason and moving on. “But yeah, I know. I thought you would have to call him every time we need to get on, since we’re probably going to have to stop somewhere to eat and sleep along the way there. Right?”

 

Jason nodded, "Oh well will, but still he may want to rest a few moments before heading off to wherever he goes when I'm not with him." He laughed at the bumping and lightly tapped him with his duffle, "Now come on, let’s get back to your cabin so we can plan and get some rest for the journey."

 

“Yeah, I got it.” He smiled, shifting his pace once more and setting off towards the Poseidon Cabin with a hum.

* * *

 

After a long night of discussing good stopping points along the way, the two turned in so they could head off early that next morning. It seemed to go pretty well at first, Jason summoning Tempest and the two of them boarding him before he took off.

As Percy predicted, the venti really didn’t appreciate having the company of a Son of Poseidon on board and made a point to make that know during several lengths of their journey across the states.

They had to stop at least five times alone to eat and rest up before continuing along. It took them three long days to finally reach the camp entrance between monster attacks, rest stops, and the sheer number of tantrums Tempest had thrown along the way, but at least they made it safely and mostly unscathed.

 

* * *

 

“Your horse **_hates_** me, Grace.” Percy gasped out as he collapsed to his knees to catch his breath while trying to force his heartrate down after that last leg of their hectic journey. Never had he been more than happy to be on the ground.

 

Jason stretched his arms and shoulders, "Oh come on it wasn't that bad, he just went a little faster sometimes to tease you, it's endearing." Jason knew that was bull, the horse really did hate Percy… but not as much as he liked Jason. So he behaved somewhat during the trip. Well, it could have been worse anyway. "Come on, let’s go to the main part of Camp and find the others, see what's up."

 

“Uh huh.” Percy just shook his head, not believing it. But at least it was over now… he was probably going to beg Nico to take them back to camp once they’re done here. He really did not want to go through that terror filled flight all over again. He did end up smacking himself in the forehead though, as… as soon as that thought struck him; he was reminded he had one other alternative to the Tempest option. He really wished he could have thought of it sooner. “Ahh, damn. We could have taken Mrs. O’leary and got here like a hundred thousand times faster than that. Why didn’t I think of that?”

 

"I was wondering when you'd think of that, but even though she's an awesome dog, this was the safest way to travel for this," Jason shrugged, tossing his back over his shoulder. "Wonder if we'll have time to shower before they put is to work," he commented as they got close to everyone, he paused the glance to Percy. "Something here seems... off."

 

“Yeah, I can agree on that… C’mon. Let’s hurry on through the entrance.” Percy returned warily, hurrying over to nod at the Camp Jupiter guards on duty. Once passed them, the raven led the way at a quick pace as the bad feeling began to grow the closer they got to the camp. Bursting out of the tunnel, Percy then looked around worriedly. Everything _looked_ normal but…

And then the thought was cut off as he noticed a shimmer beginning to form in the air nearby. It was unmistakable. “Jason…”

 

"This can't be good," Jason said quietly as the image formed to reveal a worried Rachel.

 

"I am so sorry, I wish it had of come sooner. We've tried to contact you for the last day or so, I prophesized something." Rachel said sadly, holding up a sheet of paper she'd written on, and then spoke the words that instantly led Jason to a panic.

 

_"Four a quest will arise._

_An angel fallen, though no demise._

_For air and sea, a queen will guide._

_A rescue to lead, to end a bigger pride."_

 

Percy instantly felt his heart drop right to his stomach. Shifting to exchange a horrified look with Jason as the bad feeling redoubled. He felt like he’d just eaten a ton of lead or something, worry crossing his features as he hoped against hope that the prophesy wasn’t what they thought it was.

But luck did not seem to be on their side.

The raven noticed someone hurrying towards them from the barracks, closely followed by another person and he really could not help groaning. Hazel and Frank… _‘No no no no. Please no.’_

 

Jason's eyes widened as the two got closer, "Hazel, Frank, what's going on? Rachel just gave a prophecy, and you two look like ghosts please, what's happening."

 

Hazel stopped in front of them, panic in her eyes clear, "There was a quest, they were supposed to wait… but they thought they could go it alone since nothing seemed bad and now... Nico and Reyna are missing."

 

And those, were the worst words they could have heard at that very moment.


	2. We Have A Little Trouble.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As our heroes come to learn what have become of their friends, Percy faces some memories and pensive musings over how his life has gone and the two begin to figure out what they're going to do about this new mysterious quest of theirs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> M: Hey there faithful readers!!! And I would like to formally apologize for the wait. I really did not take into account time/mood constraints last time in judging for the ‘next chapter’ release time, so please forgive us.
> 
> K: But we worked extra hard when we could, and not a day went that we weren't planning out the plot for the whole fic. A lot of exciting things will come. No worries, Nico pops up soon!
> 
> M: That he will, Friends, that he will. So, I’d also like to mention that update times can potentially range between either once or twice a month. No worries though, I can assure you every update will be jam packed with reading content to make up for it. Right, K?
> 
> K: Right, so keep looking for updates, all chapters will be around this word count range or more, especially when the quest starts, so sit back and enjoy!

Jason just stared for a moment after hearing Hazel's words. Nico and Reyna were missing, two of his friends missing, he looked to Percy, hoping to find an answer there but knew he was just as clueless about this, and looked back toward Hazel. "I... how... how are they missing where did they go?" he asked almost too quickly for it to be understood.

 

She looked down at the ground, shaking her head, "We aren't sure, we wonder if someone talked to them and told them more then we were aware, but we have no clues toward anything, we just know they were headed south."

 

Percy had shaken his own head at Jason’s look, more confused over where they could have gone than the blond had been. It was anyone’s guess and the raven had never been the greatest at planning. At least not out of the blue like Nico and Reyna’s disappearances had come about. He frowned, looking worried and potentially beating himself up over the fact they hadn’t managed to keep Nico longer. If they had… maybe he would have told them what he was going to do. It wasn’t a guaranteed maybe but at least it was a ‘could have been’.

 

Frank, for the most part, kept silent as he allowed Hazel to lead the conversation with the others. But something did stick out to him, a faint memory of what Reyna had said before leaving earlier … “Wait… I think I have an idea. Or at least… a hint? Um…” He rubbed at his neck, glancing among the three and shifting uncomfortably from being on the spot as soon as he spoke. “There was something… er… R-reyna seemed to know she wasn’t going to be back for a while the last time I saw her.” He shrank back slightly as Percy stepped forward some.

 

“What was it?” The raven asked, looking at him intently as he spoke.

 

“She, um… told me to take care of the praetorship and Camp along with it but something about how she said it seemed different from her usual comments before she goes on patrol. She also mentioned to try not to let another Octavian happen so…” He shook his head and looked to Hazel for a little support, even if she hadn’t witnessed it; he knew she’d lend him a little sturdiness in his words.

 

She nodded in agreement with Frank, "I wasn't there when she said that but..." he paused as he looked like she remembered something. After a moment, her hand flew up to her mouth. "Oh! Oh no! I should have noticed. Nico..., last night when he was packing a bag for an overnight watch on the outskirts of the camp. I should have known he was packing more than normal."

 

That made Jason frown, why would they go on ahead, on the quest, blinked then looked up, "Wait, were they told a prophecy before they left? Is that the reason for the quest?"

 

Hazel nodded, "Yes, the same one we heard Rachel telling you as you arrived, everyone had been trying to contact you since the night after you left your camp for here."

 

"But... it says four to go on the quest. That means it was supposed to be the four of us I'm guessing? This doesn't make sense, and what does the rest of it even mean anyway?" Jason kicked at a rock, grumbling just a bit as he was getting frustrated. "Show us to where you were looking up about this quest, and any clues you have leading to their trail at all."

 

Percy glanced up and reached to grip the blond’s bicep briefly, nodding at him with a determined gaze along with an assuring squeeze. They were both freaking out about this… that was clear. But when Jason started getting worse than Percy himself… that was when Percy had to step in and pull him back. A triangle of return the three of them had formed over the course of his own and the blond’s breakup with Nico helping them along as well.

 

Without Nico with them and _missing_ , it looked like they were going to have to rely on the mutual comfort they’re able to share together while they’re looking for the son of hades. After a breath of his own, Percy turned to face the two romans before them and gave a nod. “Show us how you heard about it, yeah.” He then released Jason and looked expectantly to the others.

 

Frank seemed puzzled, watching the two before looking to Hazel again and nodding. “Let’s take them there, to the… Library right? Some kind of building that we managed to open up recently. Uh… it’s in New Rome though, so you’re probably going to have to leave your stuff with Terminus.”

 

Jason, more relaxed from Percy's calming action, nodded, "Alright, that's fine, library sounds like a really good place to start. He started walking, to the place to drop off his bags.

 

Hazel led them toward the library, "Since we opened it, a lot of the research has been moved here," she explained as he showed them around. "Come on this way, it’s where we were all planning out after we got the prophecy, don't mind our live in library resident," she smiled as they got closer, chattering clear in the room.

 

Jason blinked, smiling to Percy when he caught on to who was talking, "Sounds like your future sister-in-law is here huh?"

 

Percy had to smile a little at that and nodded. So if Ella was here, maybe Tyson would be as well. He was certainly looking forward to it if he was. It’s been quite a while since he’s seen his younger brother, knowing the Cyclops had been helping their father still. Ever impressed by the younger’s growth in skill, the raven was happy to have some sign he might be around. Especially if he hasn’t seen him in a while, it was only natural though.

 

Frank was following behind them slowly; quiet now that he had stated his piece. He couldn’t do much aside from helping where he could, but whenever he could do something to help… at least it was worth it.

 

As they headed into the library, Percy moved a little more quickly towards the chattering voice of their old harpy friend. He realized it’s been a while since he’s seen her as well, just about as long as it had been since he’d last spoken with Tyson even. “Hey there Ella!”

 

Ella stopped chattering and looked at Percy and the others, "Ella is happy to see brother of Tyson! Brother... a close family bond... Percy must be Ella's brother too... So sad he has to go with the airy one to look for the shadow one and leave Ella and Tyson here again..."

 

The raven smiled at her and nodded. “Happy to see you too.” He stated lightly before frowning a little and glancing to Jason.

 

Jason blinked, okay so maybe they would learn something from this conversation, "So you know we have to look for Nico and Reyna?"

 

Ella blinked, "It will always be those closest to find him. Tyson would find Ella if she got lost in this library."

 

Hazel turned to the boys, "As you can see, this is why the research has moved here as well, she tends to annoy some people but she's very kind and useful, so is Tyson, but he left this morning saying he needed to do something with the Cyclops."

 

Percy tilted his head a little before exchanging a look with Jason and then looking to Ella again. “Always those closest?” He repeated, frowning a little as he tried to think about that. So did that mean him and Jason? Or would it be Hazel? Or even someone else? He didn’t know if there was anyone else ‘closest’ to Nico aside from himself, Jason, Hazel, and Reyna. So the thought was confusing or at least something that’s kind of a puzzle.

 

Jason noticed Percy was over thinking it, tapped his shoulder a little, "I'm guessing it means his friends and family, Percy."

 

The raven blinked, pulled from his circling thoughts by the blond’s nudge and statement. “Ah, r-right. Sorry.” He gave a smile, just a little sheepish, before nodding along and listening to Hazel speak. “Probably had to go back to the forges, Dad doesn’t let him off for long so.”

 

No one would have noticed Frank leaving the room, but the son of mars waved for Hazel’s attention and mimed leaving with a mouthing of ‘Praetor duties’ before slipping out the door and heading to take care of anything that was left unattended while he had been helping Hazel explain.

 

Hazel smiled and waved him off, turning to them, "So here is what we've figured out, before Reyna left she wrote down a few things along with the beginnings of a path plotted toward the south, we have no idea how far. Ella, show them what you showed Frank and I this morning."

 

"Ella saw the longer map they took! Shadow one gave Ella a treat to not tell, but he's in trouble so Ella must tell, he cannot take back the treat anyway for Ella has eaten it," she babbled as she moved to stand on top of a large map, "The path pretty Reyna made led here."

 

Jason walked around, motioning for Percy to walk beside him, "If they had it set to go this far down... they may have left this country... or several countries..."

 

Percy moved after him and nodded as they both looked over the map. It might actually be a problem if they’d gone that far... especially with Nico’s shadow travel. Sure he might be able to use it in small doses by now; it was still something that could put them both really far behind him without a single chance of catching up for quite a while. It honestly depended on where they had to go for this quest the four of them were supposed to be going on.

 

“We might actually have a small problem with that… unless we can figure out something that’s faster than Nico’s shadow stuff. What do you think, Jason?”

 

Jason looked over everything, nodding, "We'll take at least a week to catch up if we go there how we got here. He'll want to rest more when we get to hotter climate I think." he paused, looking at everything, "We can message Leo, see if they are close by, cut it in half, but pretty sure he'd in Asia somewhere..."

 

“Well, at least we know that they can’t go that far with shadow travel. And Blackjack is the only Pegasus that seems to have gotten to like Nico too… so… they’ll have to slow down when they reach the ocean.”

 

Percy paused and blinked. “Oh… I guess that could be part of the reason it needed **me**. You can’t get too far without crossing the ocean… and with me that wouldn’t take as long as if I wasn’t going. Right?”

 

Jason side glanced over to Percy, "Well you are right, you'll be useful if we need to cross water, very much so..." he agreed, looking over the map again.” But I'm starting to think this is more so a quest for Nico and direct friends of Nico..."  He turned from Percy to look to Ella, "Is there water in here we can use to call around people we know for possible transportation?"

 

Ella flapped and nodded, "Ella has lots of water here, makes Tyson feel at home when he is here. Ella will get you are jug of this water." She flew up and around to the other side of the library to fetch it for them.

 

“I make the rainbow, you make the call?”

 

The raven questioned with a grin as he turned to face the blond with a hum while Ella went to get the water for them to use to send the Iris Message. His air mildly relaxed though it was mainly to keep the worry for their friends in check considering they were stuck so far behind them already. Percy really hoped they could catch up soon though, he wasn’t sure what it was but something seemed off here too. Why would Nico go off like that?

 

He knew him well enough by now, or at least he liked to think he did, that the younger raven wouldn’t hurry off headfirst into a quest without all the ones who were supposed to go on it. That was **his** job after all, not Nico’s, or anyone else’s. Was it the number? Four was _not_ a dividend of three… and wasn’t it bad luck in some cultures too? _If_ … he remembered one of Annabeth’s tangents correctly at least. He wasn’t sure but… maybe something had spooked him? Or…

 

And before he knew it, Percy had gotten trapped into thinking too hard once again. Or so his friends have consistently teased him for. It was his ADHD, if he thought too deeply, sometimes he’d get stuck in a constant loop of thinking about different things and pressing issues until someone pulled him out of it.

 

Jason thanked Ella she passed them the water, "Alright so make the rainbow, I've gotten out the coi-" Jason glanced to Percy, seeing a far off look on his face. He rolled his eyes a bit but laughed, "Earth to Perseus Jackson, where did your mind wander off to?" He waved his hand in front of Percy's face, knowing he must have drifted off into a thinking process again.

 

He turned to Ella, "Can you drop just a tiny sprinkle of water on his head? It should help relax him.

 

Ella squawked and let a bit of water drip onto Percy's head, "If Jason thinks this will help Percy, Ella will help a lot."

 

Percy blinked as he snapped from his thoughts a couple minutes after the waving and water drip. A small look of confusion appeared on his face as he did so, “Huh?” He questioned, looking between the two of them before he realized what could have just happened and rubbed awkwardly at his neck.

 

“Ah..., heh heh. Guess I got a little distracted, huh?” He asked a moment later before shaking his head a few times and showing a smile to the blond. “I’m good now, sorry about that.” He then looked to the water, getting ready to find the right angle for light to filter through it.

 

Jason nudged his shoulder, letting him know it was alright. He nodded to Ella and Hazel who were wandering to the other side of the library to look up something. Then he tossed the coins into the mix and called out their friend's name, "Connect us to Leo Valdez."

 

It took a few seconds before the image started to form, a slightly surprised face smiled into it, "Hey guys, it's been awhile, how's everything going at camp?" Leo asked as he pet his metal dragon that was beside him, "We just stopped for what is the night ever here to rest. Calypso insisted on doing the food run this time, so I'm hanging here with Festus."

 

“Heya Leo, Everything’s going alright but… Well. We have a situation—Jason and I kind of need a way to get halfway across the country pretty fast. Right?” Percy looked at the blond to confirm it.

 

"Right, if you can help it would be useful," Jason nodded in agreement with his statement.

 

He then focused back on Leo to continue, “Think you could maybe help us find out a way that could… well… maybe compete with Nico’s shadow-travel skills or something?” The raven shifted a little as he spoke, knowing he probably needed to explain more but… he can do that in a moment. First they had to see if Leo could help, then they can explain… yeah.

 

Leo smiled lightly at them, "Well I can't get there fast enough, with Festus," he paused for a moment, clearly thinking things over. "I'm guessing you've been travelling through magical horse? If so give me a few seconds and I can try to come up something that will help you guys be able to travel while he's resting." He got to work trying to figure out something to help them.

 

 Jason just raised an eyebrow then turned to Percy to shrug, "Well if he's got an invention in his head, can't hurt to see if they can help us put it together here before we leave."

 

The raven returned his shrug before thinking to himself a bit. “There’s also… Hermes Delivery if he can put it together faster. Since we’re in Jupiter and I’m not too well versed in Roman stuff but… isn’t Hephaestus’ godly realm a little different here? Or is he one of the ones closer to the Greek…?” He was remembering the story with the Roman side of Athena, pretty different here. That was definitely for sure. He’s glad he never saw it, but he still remembered Annabeth’s story.

 

 _Annabeth_ … **_No Percy, bad Percy. Stop that._**

 

He shook his head a little bit before looking at Jason while they waited for Leo to finish up. “What do you think, dude?” He’s privately glad he managed to pull himself back for once, though it’s not like he couldn’t _sometimes_ it’s just pretty hard to do more often than not. Which… may actually be why this whole quest could potentially be a good thing. Now that he was thinking about it… He kind of hoped it would be, honestly.

 

Jason didn't answer right away, waiting to make sure Percy was okay, he hadn't missed how he'd gone into one of his confused moments again, "Uhm right, that's probably the best option, if you have the equipment there Leo."

 

Leo smirked up where he was planning it out, "Sure, if you guys can hold off leaving until morning. I've got all the parts I need minus the wood which I can get this gorgeous dragon here to help me cut down what I need. I'll make sure Hermes has it to you by the time breakfast is over."

 

Percy looked to Jason once before looking at Leo and nodding, as long as he didn’t have to stay in New Rome he’ll be fine with staying the night… maybe spruce up his Dad’s shrine here too… maybe sleep in it… yeah. Even if it’s really tiny… but he wasn’t sure if he could still stay in the fifth cohort so… shrine. Maybe… He didn’t know. “We can wait that long, yeah.” He rubbed at his neck, no New Rome… no New Rome… no New Rome… 

 

“Yeah...” He repeated with a light breath and rubbing at his face. “But, anyway. Thanks Leo, it’ll be a big help. Uh… the reason we need something to help us keep up with Nico by the way… is well… there’s a quest. It involves Me, Jason, Nico, and Reyna. But… Nico… being _Nico_ , kind of ran off on his own. We think Reyna caught him before he could go though, and made him take her with him. So…”

 

Leo nodded as he started getting out pieces, "Right, you two rest up then, and I'll get to work. I'll message you if I need to know any specifics. Be sure to tell Nico and RARA I said hello when you find them," he grinned as he got back to working on it, letting the connection drop.

 

Jason nodded a goodbye to him, turning to Percy, "So... we wait..." he sighed as he walked around the table a bit. “Come on, let’s go find Hazel and see where she wants us to stay. I'm sure we can bunk in the cohorts for the night. No sense in putting us up in the city for one night right?" He was sure Percy's mind was already trailing off to things happening nearby, and really hoped he'd be able to ease it, "Who knows, maybe my old bunk is still open."

 

The raven fidgeted a little, rubbing awkwardly at his neck before rapping a few fingers on his thigh. “I’m… not sure. I mean, I… I like the barracks… but I mean… um. I don’t… want to wake anyone up. And the city… the city’s a bad idea too but-” He sighed, worrying at his lips. Now, normally, he wouldn’t show this kind of uncertainty and worry to anyone. But he knew, at the very least, Jason was prone to understanding him when he needed him to.

 

He raised his hands helplessly, looking the blond in the eye with a clear need of assistance. He really… wasn’t the same now, was he? It was kind of stupid, but Percy couldn’t help these moments of being at a loss for a decision. He had a lot happen to him in the past year or so, even _after_ the whole evil mother earth thing.

 

A hand was placed on Percy's shoulder, Jason looking at him in the eye. "Percy, it's okay. No one in the barracks will wake up, they are used to people coming in and out at different times because of different shifts," he said as he tried his best to reassure him. He understood, they had all gone through a lot, but his upset friend had gone through something much worse them himself.

 

He nudged his shoulder, "Come on, let’s go find Hazel, put our stuff in whatever room we're staying in, and then get something to eat. We've got a long day tomorrow so we need to have all of the energy we can get."

 

“It’s not… moving in and out that I’m worried about though…” Percy sighed softly before turning to follow him. Only to pause as another thought came to mind. “Jason… do you think… we could maybe eat near my dad’s shrine/temple whatever it is or something? I mean, it’s not that I’m not… happy to see everyone but…” He shook his head. “I don’t think I could actually… eat in the food hall, y’know? In case…” He didn’t think he needed to elaborate on _that_ thought. “But like… you could get us both something to eat and bring it out there… where I think I’m going to wait…”

 

Jason blinked for a moment as he registered what Percy was asking, "Yeah... okay Percy, we'll do that, let me go put our bags down first though, because we will sleep in the bunks," He agreed, understanding that he really did need that for now. "You can go on to your dad's shrine and I'll meet you there okay?" 

 

He really hoped this would help him, "We both know you can't avoid everything forever, but for now, its fine. Let’s get going for now, be sure to talk to your dad while waiting, he may not answer, but when we go over water, we'll need all the luck we can get."

 

“I can do that.”

 

Percy didn’t answer the other comment though; even as mixed and lost he was for the moment… he was still stubborn about certain subjects, especially if it lead to completely avoiding the sources of special ones. He _needed_ to avoid it, he really could not face… **anything** … involving that specific one. It may be childish or whatever else, but… he had nothing to hold onto just yet. Only when he did, could he face _her_. There was no other way.

 

Jason just nodded, patting him on the back and heading in the direction Hazel and Ella had gone. He kept glancing over at Percy, making sure he wasn't swelling on things too much, and tried to lighten the mood by mentioning how they would work out their travel speed when they found out what Leo had thought of.

* * *

 

A quiet sigh left Percy’s lips once he was alone in his father’s shrine and finally able to relax while allowing his thoughts to wander. He rubbed at his eyes and face a minute as he leaned against the far wall only to slide down it a moment later. He tilted his head back to rest at the wall before he closed his eyes and groaned to himself.

 

Gods was he suddenly _tired_ all of a sudden.

 

But then again, staying in Camp Jupiter for extended periods of time seemed to do that to him anyways, no matter what mood he’s in prior. It’s not that it was anyone’s fault really; it’s just the fact that he hated the multiples of chances he could randomly run into Annabeth here.

 

Seeing as she had opted to go to college in New Rome… almost _immediately_ after they broke up…

 

As he had reiterated to himself earlier, it wasn’t like it was a particularly **bad** one… but maybe that was really only true on the outside. On the inside… it happened to be much much worse. Or at least it was for Percy. He had no clue the impact it had on Annabeth; chances are maybe that it hadn’t impacted her at all.

 

He really didn’t know.

 

But maybe that’s what their entire relationship had been in the first place. It started off pretty crazy, he supposed, and now it was done and over with. Honestly, he could never figure out what happened to ‘them’. It had been fine, they’d survived Tartarus together, they defeated Gaia together… so much had gone on in their lives. But maybe that could have been the issue as well.

 

Without the wars holding them together and as the nightmares got worse and worse… eventually their relationship had simply crumbled. Percy had been holding onto it so tightly, so strongly, and then Annabeth had simply ended it. Just like that. He didn’t actually quite remember what he’d said when she brought it up, only that he agreed and they went on in their lives.

 

So yeah, it could have just been him, who still valued it. But then again, maybe it was also more of a security blanket than anything, a safety net to catch him and a trust to not let the nightmares take him.

 

Or _something_.

 

But enough of thinking about that, for now, the raven shifted again and opened his eyes with a quiet sigh as he shook his thoughts from the slowly winding chains threatening to lock down and constrict him too tight to breathe or to even break free on his own.

 

He won’t lose himself to that subject again today.

 

Taking a breath, Percy focused on the small shrine in the center of the temple and let a small yet hesitant smile come to light as he gazed at it. It looked like someone might be tending to the building when he’s not here at least. If the fresh fruit presented in the alter was anything to go by. That’s good. Shaking himself once more, the Son of Poseidon stood and walked over so he could try and dusting off some of the particles that may have landed around it since the fruit placement.

 

As he did that, he also started speaking aloud to the alter, telling his father about the new quest and about how Nico and Reyna had left ahead of them. He made sure to include a wish for clear waters should they need to cross the ocean and placed some extra food as an offering for the wish to be fulfilled in the time they may need it.

 

All while waiting for Jason to return so they could eat and try to figure out the quest a little more.

* * *

 

Jason let out a sigh as he left Percy and headed toward the dining hall, he knew what he was going through, or at least to an extent. He and Piper had split up also, but for them it was more of a we work better as friends mutual agreement, so things had stopped being awkward after just a couple weeks.

 

He stopped every so often to say hello to his old friends at the camp, catching up a little as he went.

 

He waved to Hazel when he got there, walking over to talk to thank her for all the help they'd given, "If we don't see Ella before we leave, give her our thanks as well, though I'm sure we'll stop back by the library to gather a few maps."

 

She nodded, helping him hold the plates, "Is Percy doing okay? I know he has a lot on his mind, but normally he's the first to want to socialize."

 

Jason nodded, "Yeah, it's complicated, I think he wants to avoid drama from a certain situation from being added to his stress from the mission ahead," he explained quietly so no one else would really listen in.

 

Hazel smiled sadly, understanding that it had been an issue that caused a lot of trouble for their friends. She helped him carry the food out of the crowded hall to the exit, "I have to get back, sure you can carry this from here?"

 

Jason nodded in confirmation, wishing her a good evening as he balanced everything on his arm, he came close to dropping it when he caught the glimpse of long blonde hair from the corner of his eyes, ' _Maybe Percy has made the right choice by staying back for now_.'

 

He was still friends with Annabeth as well, but after seeing how confused Percy had been, and still was it was hard for him to not to be worried for Percy. In a way, the breakup had caused Jason to feel the same sense of protectiveness that he'd gotten for Nico after the whole Eros incident. Percy was getting better, and Jason wasn't sure if everyone could see it, but he could tell that Percy seemed overall more relaxed and more himself ever since it happened.

 

He paused walking as he got close to the temple of Neptune, and took a deep breath. He didn't want Percy to know he was letting himself think on it too much. He carefully knocked on the entrance with his foot, "Hey Percy I'm back, but arms are full, can you get the door?"

 

“Ahh, coming. Just hang on.”

 

Percy called back, glancing up from wiping off dust and moving over to open the door to let Jason inside. “Hey, welcome back?” He stated, smiling a little as he spoke. Clearly the time to himself had done him well, his mood certainly lifted and more casual than it had been earlier.

 

 So he was essentially recovered, just as long as they didn’t have to go anywhere else and could just leave earlier in the morning once Leo’s assistant invention arrived and they could finally get started on tracking after Nico and Reyna.

 

The raven was also sort of relieved with that too, finally getting closer to catching up and hoping nothing bad would happen before they even could.

 

Jason glanced at him, placing the food trays down so they could eat, noticing that Percy seemed to be doing a bit better. "Sorry it took so long, kept running into people I used to talk to here. Then Hazel and I went over a few things."

 

He sat down near the food, "Sure your dad won't mind me hanging out here to eat?" He knew out of the three, their dads got along best, but still it was bit unnerving to say the least.

 

He offered a bit of his food, hoping that would be good enough to ease his thought, "Someone must be looking after this place, it's a lot nicer now."

 

“Yeah, I kind of noticed that too. I wonder who does it… do you think maybe Hazel or Frank?” As Percy considered that he felt a little more assured in who may be responsible.

 

“Frank’s got some Poseidon blood in him, right? So maybe it’s him? Or it could be Nico… since I think he would. I mean… he’s… or… I don’t know but… whoever does, it’s nice knowing my dad isn’t quite as disregarded anymore.” He shook his head and settled back, getting comfortable.

 

“Mm, I think he wouldn’t mind… and I kind of talk to him about you and Nico a lot so I’m sure he’s not going to vaporize us for just eating and staying a night in his temple. I mean…I think he might understand. I’m not certain on it but I can feel him listening most of the time. Even if he doesn’t answer me back, you know? Just a gut feeling.”

 

Jason nodded, guessing it was probably one or more of them that did so. He smiled at what Percy said about being watched over, "I'm sure he's listening and willing to help us all out with this quest. I think my dad is sort of as well. Or well, at the least, not letting things get to far out of hand."

 

He started eating his food, then his eye crinkled as he started thinking over a few more things, "I really wonder who is behind all of this, the prophecy is sort of vague on those details as always..."

 

“Yeah.” Percy agreed, starting in on his own food. “What was it again? _Four a quest will arise_? Do you think it meant ‘for’ or ‘four’? Like I know we assumed it meant four people but…” He paused to think a bit before shaking his head. “I donno, but… it’s probably not good, right? I mean the last two times the quest members weren’t a multiple of three…” Yeah, they got Leo back safely but Percy was still worried since the shorter male actually did end up dying for a little while.

 

Jason shrugged, "I don't know, man..." He thought it over for a moment, he'd heard the stories, "Maybe there is a reason behind it, but this quest doesn't seem like the others." It was true somehow this felt different but not in a way that was good.  "I think we should definitely make big offerings to all the godly parents of the four of us before we head out tomorrow."

 

“Hey… I kind of don’t know Reyna’s mom that well, so think we should split it up? Like you can give one to Renya’s mom and your dad… and maybe Nico’s dad and I can give some to my dad, Nico’s dad, and your dad? What do you think?” He didn’t want to accidentally anger a Roman Goddess he knew nothing about so… he didn’t think he should really make an offering in case it’s something she found insulting.

 

Jason nodded, "Yeah that's fine, I've never actually been there myself, but it's offering to make sure she's safe, so I'm sure I'll be able to," he agreed. "Also a good idea to give something to my dad from you as a peace offering in case we need to do more air travel yeah?" He was mostly teasing... but knowing their parents... "Anyway let’s finish up eating and get some sleep soon. Maybe plan out where we head out towards first before bed."

 

“Well… I kind of like living. And I know I’m not Zeus’ favorite, he’s not mine either but yeah-- I thought it’d be better and both of us offering to Hades… well that’s sort of a given too. Since it’s… ah… Hades.” He shrugged and leaned back some more before nodding and picking his food up again. “Let’s finish already then, yeah?” Showing a light smile as he ate.

 

Jason snorted as he finished eating, "We may be really good friends with his kids but yes, Hades is the most intimidating... I feel he pays attention to what's happening with the demigods more than others." He laughed nervously at that thought, "So based on the map, if we head around to a bigger city nearby we might be able to travel by a vehicle for at least part of the day..."

 

“Yeah and then if we take Tempest… we’re probably going to have to land a little ways out… find another town or something… but I think I might have to sit in front of you this time since I felt like he was trying to make me slip off the back if I hadn’t been hanging on…” He sighed, shaking his head. Man did he wish Blackjack was up for the task.

 

Jason snorted a little at that, "Yeah, he probably was, he really doesn't like you that much, so it's fine as long as he knows I'm still the one in charge of course." The thought of Tempest being mad was entertaining to say the least. "Anyway, let’s get some rest, long day ahead."

 

“I just don’t want to fall to my death from like hundreds of feet in the air, would kind of suck, right?” He tried a joking smile but he really was kind of concerned, honestly in all the other horse types he’s dealt with… Tempest was the scariest. At least with Arion, though he’s never actually ridden him, he knew what the guy was saying and thinking. With Jason’s steed he didn’t have a single clue, only that the thing hated him with a passion. He kind of wondered if part of it was Zeus’ influence, but he didn’t bring it up to Jason.

 

Jason smiled at him, "Yeah that would suck, but no worries there Percy," he grinned, "I'd fly down and catch you like a superhero," he teased, hoping it would lighten Percy's mood about it, at least a bit."

 

Percy snorted a little and nudged him in the shoulder. “Should I call you my Superman then?” Grinning a bit before shaking his head. “But thanks, Jay. Even though it would be your horse’s fault anyway.” He laughed and leaned back with a small hum and a yawn. “But you’re right. Let’s figure out a good place to sleep in here and then crash.”

 

Jason laughed, getting his bag and setting his stuff up like when they have to sleep in the woods, "Yeah well, most of the word ‘temper’ is in his name..." He tried to not comment on liking the idea of being the superhero a bit too much. "Hmm, this wall seems to have the least wind coming in?"

 

“Alright that one it is.” He yawned and moved his stuff over to settle a small distance from Jason, just enough to feel another person close but not too much to where he’d end up kicking him if he ended up thrashing in his sleep. He was pretty certain it was likely he’d have some pretty bad nightmares tonight so… best to be safer than sorry.

 

Jason didn't say anything and let him set up, he could guess why he was close, so he understood. He hoped that once they started the quest, Percy focusing on that would get his mind off of other things. "Right, Night Percy, get some sleep, as much as we can."

 

“Yeah.” He managed a small smile before looking down and focusing his gaze on his sleeping things before settling in and rolling to his side, back facing Jason. “Goodnight, Superman.” He called over his shoulder and closed his eyes while trying not to dread the coming night too much. It still got to him every night, having him lay awake for about twenty minutes before he even fell asleep… and then the nightmares too. They didn’t help, but he tried his best to not make it a burden on anyone. He’s sure that’s one of the reasons why… certain things didn’t work out.

 

Jason relaxed down as best he could, turning a bit to get comfortable. It took him awhile to fall asleep, as he was trying to glance over at Percy a few times to make sure he was okay.

 

But eventually he fell asleep, his last thought being that he hoped it all went as smooth as possible for them in catching up with Nico and Reyna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> M: Sorry again for the wait everyone!! But at least you guys get extra long chapters to make up for it, right? 
> 
> As before, comment and let us know how you're liking the story so far!! We definitely read every one of them and always try to improve when we can.
> 
> K: We hope you enjoyed this chapter! It starts getting whirling next time. More characters will appear, here and there. The boys have a long journey ahead and we hope to see you soon as they continue it!


	3. We Receive An Update.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy and Jason head off on their journey, and Jason get a small visit late at night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> K: Hey Readers, welcome back, there was a bit of a delay but the chapter is pretty long as a reward for waiting.  
> M: Yup, Yup!! So sorry about that, and I have to tell you guys. From now… up until the end of May? I think, our updates are going to be super erratic and we apologize for that too.  
> K: Yeah, but we promise, we're always working on it in some form or the other, so no worries, and we have a few ideas of plans we may do after this fic.  
> M: Oh yes!! This I can ensure as well. Even between chapters if the muse strikes us to do something slightly different for a bit.  
> K: Mhmm, so no worries, these three boys are always wandering around doing something in our minds.  
> M: Yep, always getting into trouble if you ask me. Anyways!! We’ve kept you waiting long enough, enjoy~~

Percy was relieved to see that only Hazel had come to see them off, he’d been a little worried word would go around and… yeah. Frank appeared to be busy with Praetor duties too, so he was perfectly fine with just having the Daughter of Pluto to see them off.

 

Leo’s invention had come bright and early just as he’d woken up too, the timing being pretty awesome since they didn’t need to stay for too long which also meant they had a higher chance of coming across Nico and Reyna as soon as possible. So all in all, it was going to be a good day.

 

"This is amazing! We'll have to message him later and thank him for it," Jason grinned as he looked over the mechanical skateboard like thing that he'd sent to them. He folded it back up and put in a pouch that was easily carried on their backs or over the horse like a saddle bag.

 

Hazel smiled as he watched them get ready handing the things she'd help pack, "There is a weeks’ worth of rations here, so only use it on days you can't get to a city. Frank and Ella both send you their well wishes of good luck." She stopped talking and looked at them seriously, "Please when you find my brother, let me know as soon as possible that he's okay."

 

“We will, Hazel. Don’t worry.” Percy had to smile a little with the fierceness in the shorter girl’s tone. She really was deadly protective over her brother, though the raven couldn’t blame her. He felt that could be something they all shared, a fondness and protectiveness over the Son of Hades… as well as a lot of care for him too. “You’ll be the first to know as soon as we find and get ahold of him, no doubt about that.” He turned, getting ready to go when a sudden bellow echoed over the fields behind them.

  
  
“BROOOOTHER”

 

He blinked and turned fully, expression surprised but curious with a hint of fondness creasing his lips as the call continued, accompanied with an unmistakable thudding gait the Son of Poseidon had come to associate with his child like ‘little’ brother.

 

Hazel smiled, "Oh good, I was so worried he wouldn't make it in time." She beamed as she watched the person come into their view.

 

"Oh hey! It's good to see you Tyson, we almost missed seeing you," Jason smiled as he started organizing things while he got their things gathered up more.

 

Percy opened his arms wide as the young Cyclops came barreling into view and practically crushing him in one of the male’s trademark bear hugs. “Alright big guy, good to see you too but I kind of can’t breathe buddy.” He stated, laughing breathlessly before tapping on the younger’s arm to get him to let him go.

 

“Brother!! I have a present for you!!” Tyson returned, voice still booming as he spoke once he had released the other and felt around a bag he’d been holding to find the thing he wanted to give the raven. Upon finding it, the Cyclops held it out quite proudly. “A new shield for brother!!”

 

Percy had to chuckle a little before he accepted the new watch and looked it over. “Does it work like the old one?” Upon receiving a nod from the eager male, the raven pressed a familiar button that caused the shield to fan out much like its predecessor had. Only it was a little larger and had several more depictions engraved upon the metal. “Wow Ty, this is amazing… detailed just like the last one. Thanks buddy.”

 

A brilliant grin made its way across Tyson’s face at that. “Hopefully it will serve brother well!! Oh! Presents for brother’s friends too!” The taller male exclaimed as soon as he turned to return Jason’s greetings towards him now that the present for Percy was out of the way. “Father said three friends were going too, so three presents for three friends.” He rummaged in his bag again before presenting Jason with a semi-thick looking golden band. A bracelet much like the one Thalia commonly wears.

 

Hazel smiled, "This is why he was gone yesterday, though I dint' know about him making them for everyone, so that makes sense why it took so long. Welcome back Tyson."

 

"Oh wow this is really cool, Tyson!" Jason smiled as he put it on his wrist, "It's kind of like my sister's bracelet, so that makes it feel even cooler." He beamed, looking it over. "What do I have to do to get this to work?"

 

He blinked hearing what Hazel and Tyson had said about Poseidon, and then turned to Percy with a smile, "Hear that? I think your dad has already helped look out for us by letting Tyson know to make these three."

 

He rubbed his neck before nodding. “Yeah, looks like it. And if it’s anything like Thalia’s and mine there should be a button on it somewhere. Makes it activate and then another button makes it go back to its disguised form. So what are the other two, Ty?” Percy asked, turning back to the Cyclops with a curious look in his face. It looked like Jason’s was a shield but Percy knew for a fact that Nico didn’t use shields at all. He wasn’t sure if Reyna did or not but whatever it was it was probably something that fit her.

 

“Dark friend gets this.” Tyson held out a chained necklace with a long looking fang positioned at the bottom of it.

 

It looked pretty wicked and Percy wondered if it was as sharp as it appeared. It definitely wasn’t a shield but the Son of Poseidon got the strangest feeling that it was something that suited the Son of Hades _perfectly_ and without excuse. He also noted the loop fastening the fang to the chain was unusually large… not noticeable enough at a single glance but one long look told him it may be wide enough for one of the smaller raven’s fingers to fit through.

 

“And Warrior Friend gets this.” Tyson then held out a somewhat ordinary looking fastener. It resembled one of those fancy bracelets that you can just slap on your wrist and it wrapped around them only it was more decorative and seemed to have a small clasp to keep the circular form when worn.

 

Percy was curious on what that did but he’ll leave _that_ up to when they meet up with Nico and Reyna… both were a force to be reckoned with if you messed with their stuff... and the green eyed teen really did not want to face the wrath of the scariest tag-team in existence… **_ever_**.

 

"Oh wow, these are all cool, I can't wait for them to see it," Jason smiled looking them all over. Somehow having these items given to them, made him feel a bit calmer about the journey, every bit of extra defense was useful in this case.

 

He looked at his own for a moment, seeing where a bit of it was raised up more than the rest and pressed it. His eyes widened as it started expanding into a shield that was similar to Percy's except made on Imperial gold. "Oh wow! Tyson this is very useful, thanks man!"

 

He turned to Percy, "Looks like if fighting back to back, we'll be highly covered, both of us having these." Then he turned back to the other two, "Thanks again for this, and thank you Hazel for helping us with the food and stuff. We promise we'll be back with Nico and Reyna soon."

 

Percy nodded smiling lightly before turning to offer Tyson a hug of his own. “Thanks big guy, really. These are going to really help out. I know it.” He smiled then, stepping back and tapping his watch. “These are going to be the keys to the quest being a success, I bet they will.”

Tyson simply gave a brilliant smile and another extreme Cyclops bear hug. “Stay safe, brother!! We will wait here till you say it goes well!!”

 

Hazel gave them a slight hug, "Take care of yourselves, send all messages to Tyson or Ella, that way they will definitely be able to answer. If Frank and I are both busy they can give us the message as soon as possible."

 

"We'll be back quickly, we promise," Jason nodded petting Tempest to let him know they were getting ready to leave. "We'll contact you as soon as we stop for the night, or if we find something that we think needs to be reported back here instantly."

 

“We’ll be sure to, Hazel. We’ll definitely contact you if we get into contact with Nico at all too, right Jason?” Percy nudged him before nodding to her again and warily approaching Tempest as well… He really did not like this horse… Oh well… time to go, lift off and all. To be honest, Percy was / _not_ / looking forward to it.

 

* * *

 

Jason smiled slightly as he waved bye to Hazel and Ella on the screen. They hadn't gotten as far as they had hoped to the first day, but he wanted to make sure they didn't get too worried by that. He stood up from where he was sitting to talk and stretched.

 

"Well, we'll get plenty of sleep tonight," he said as he laid down, trying to get comfortable. He looked across the space to where Percy was not too far away. "I really hope we can have some news for them tomorrow..."

 

“Yeah.” Percy yawned a little though he was fairly sure he wasn’t going to sleep too well that night. Just a feeling he got, honestly. A rub at his eyes, gaze drooping off and on, the shorter carefully changed his clothes and slipped under the covers. “Night, Jay.” He yawned one last time, curled onto his side, and closed his eyes.

 

"Night Jackson," Jason smiled a bit as he watched him a few minutes, sleeping as close to the edge of his bed as possible incase Percy needed him. He eventually closed his eyes and turned over, thinking of what they could be get done the next day. He really hoped they would get a bit closer to finding Nico and Reyna the next day.

 

Eventually after turning a few times, he relaxed and fell into a dream filled slumber.

* * *

 

As Jason fell asleep, Nico waited a few minutes before approaching him with a sigh and a shake of his head. He’d been trying to gauge when they’d go to sleep for about twenty minutes, waiting in the borderlines until he could finally connect. He didn’t think he did much with this before, only mentioning it once so he didn’t believe they’d quite remember it. Or so he was going to assume. But either way, Jason’s dreams would be far more easily entered than Percy’s… Percy’s… Nico knew weren’t in a stable state most of the time.

 

A light breath passed his lips and soon he was stepping into the realm of whatever kind of dreams _the Golden Boy_ usually experienced. He’d become accustomed to the different sceneries… most were actually interesting to venture inside though he really only did this on occasion anyways. Thoughts aside, the shorter raven took a look around and tried to pinpoint where in this little dream realm in the blond’s dreams that Jason’s consciousness currently resided.

 

Jason sighed in his dreams, relaxing on a beach chair, sunglasses on. Being surrounded by the ocean and caves where ever he was, it was nice. He took a sip of whatever fruit drink had suddenly appeared beside him, wondering when the Percy in his dream would come out of the water, and when dream Nico would come out of the house they were staying at. He shrugged and relaxed back, closing his eyes, not yet noticing someone was invading his dream.

 

Nico had to pause and roll his eyes a little as the scenery transformed into what the blond had begun to dream about. Honestly, this looked like one of the lamest things ever but at the same time it fit the Son of Jupiter to a T. Either way, the raven moved the rest of the way into the bright light of the ‘sun’ and slowly approached the blond with a raised eyebrow.

 

Not long after reaching the other’s side, Nico spoke aloud. “Really, Grace? _This_ is what you dream about?” He stated, shaking his head again but he held a slight smile in his face once he had finished talking.

 

“I mean… Beaches? Caves?”

 

He raised a brow again and then moved on with a sigh. “I know you’re following us, but you two should go back… we can handle it.” Even if a prophesy stated they needed the four of them. No _way_ was he going to let any of them get themselves killed.

 

Jason's eyes shot wide open and he jumped up, almost tipping out of his chair, "Nico! Man don't scare me like that!" He was shocked but still smiling to see him, so he stood up to walk over to him. "Admit it, my dream is perfect." he grinned before shaking his head at the rest of what Nico had said.

 

"Not a change Nico, nothing you could say would make a turn back, so you might as well tell us the fastest way to catch up," he said in a way he hoped would make Nico understand that.

 

"We're following the maps you left with Ella, so we're on our way. You and Reyna knew it was supposed to be all of us didn't you?" Jason asked even though he knew the answer. "I'm just glad you at least let her go with you."

 

“Not a chance. I didn’t even want Reyna to come but she insisted…” And kind of cornered him... But he won’t mention that. “But anyway, yes… I knew it was the four of us… but there’s one problem with that Jason…” He gave him a long look before he turned away, pacing a little bit. “In fact, I’m going to try even harder to stay ahead of you.” He sighed to himself, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head more, clearly bothered by the whole thing.

 

“Because…”

 

He cut himself off, frowning a little more deeply. His steps circling a few times and more head shaking to follow. This quest really had him, expressing it to Reyna may not have been enough or maybe it was solely because he’s talking to Jason but the blond seemed to pull things right through him without even trying… it was kind of irritating to be entirely honest.

 

Jason frowned and walked closer to him, "Because why, Nico? Name one reason it's a bad idea for the four of us to work together, we're all strong on our own, if they prophecy is saying it needs all four of us, it must be something big."

 

He hoped that would reason with him somehow, but he knew Nico better than that, "You've grown a lot Nico, so I know you're not running off on your own for the same reasons as before. I won't dismiss those reasons and say they have nothing to do with it, but that's not why fully."

 

He paused and took off the sunglasses dream him had been wearing, putting his normal ones back on so he could see him clearly, "Nico, you're one of my best friends, so please, whatever made you take off, please know it's not more important than the four of us working together."

 

“Four. Jason… _Four_. Not one, not three, not six. **Four**.” Nico pointed out before he continued to circle and wear a small path in the sand at their feet. “Four is a bad number.” He stopped and sighed, rubbing at his eyes.

 

If Jason got a better look at him, he’d probably notice how tired the younger teen looked, tired and exhausted.

 

The truth of it was… he never got any actual rest. His body did, certainly, but mentally… not so much. Honestly, there _was_ something that made him leave so quickly before… but he didn’t want to talk about it with them yet and he wasn’t going to until he was ready to do so.

 

Jason watched him, turning as he walked to keep his eyes on him. "I know Nico, I know, the number scares me, but also anytime someone goes against prophecies and quests, something worse happens."

 

He looked him over and sighed, "Nico, before the quest started, when was the last time you actually tried to sleep?" He knew he wouldn't like the answer, but he really hoped that Nico had at least been sleeping a little bit.

 

"That aside, please keep at a pace so we can catch up with you," he pleaded, "We'd blame ourselves if something bad happened before we got there."

 

“I’m sleeping right now?”  Yes, he ignored the prior statement and the actual meaning behind Jason’s question. Both very clear signs he was avoiding the blond’s disappointment and concern, as per usual when something winds him up tight enough to break, though he never does.

 

He also just shook his head at the last point moving more away from him to stare at the ocean, focusing on that and not on Jason’s face… especially not his eyes. Nico knew those eyes would be filled with concern and disappointment, he didn’t want to see that right now either.

 

Jason sighed as he moved to stand beside Nico, he truly hated seeing him this exhausted, but he said nothing for a few minutes. He'd learned sometimes Nico just needed someone close by and wanted to make sure we was alright before he spoke again.

 

"You know, maybe after the quest, you should talk to Percy about them. He deals with those types of dreams also..." he said as he drew squiggles in the sand with his foot. "I want to help you both, but I think it would be good for two people going through it to talk together."

 

He sat in the sand and leaned forward, chin resting on his knees. “I know… I kind of do if it’s just us and you have something you need to do.” His gaze lowered and he sighed quietly, letting a breath loose. “I still haven’t figured out what to do for him short of sleeping together…”

 

He paused.

 

 “I meant near each other… not like…” He gestured a few times before muffling his face in his knees for a few minutes. A light groan passed his lips and he settled back, letting off a gust of a sigh as he did so. After a few minutes, he closed his eyes and spoke again.

 

“Only my body has slept since we left Jupiter… I… Reyna… mm…” He sighed and raised a hand to cover his lids too, partly hiding his face. “I still… can’t…” He gestured again, using his free arm to indicate the nightmares and how though Reyna was near, it didn’t help.

 

Jason smiled as he sat down beside him, "I know what you meant Nico. And because you're tired I won't comment on how that sounded." He glanced at him with a smile, "So if I sleep closer beside him that should help?"

 

He paused again thinking it over, "Does that mean maybe if when we catch up with you, you'll be able to sleep better if we sleep close enough. I know I didn't go through what you two did, and that's part of why Reyna isn't able to help. But... I want to be able to help both of you as much as possible, so is it okay if I try to help you with it as well?"

 

“I don’t know why it doesn’t work; it’s… still something to figure out too but…” He frowned though, mind catching the earlier part of that a little late. “Shush.” He tried to smack his side but missed it by a hundred yards and just… groaned and sighed. “Now that you mentioned it, it’s messing up my consciousness.” He muttered, frown incredibly prominent within his tired features.

 

“But I don’t know if it’d help or not… and we’re still not slowing down to let you catch up.”

  
  
Jason groaned, "Nico, you've got to let us help you, you heard the prophecy, there is a reason it's the four of us, even if we don't know why." He hoped he's realized this and will let them help.

 

"Look, at the very least, please keep us updated this way so as we get closer, we'll know you're still doing okay?" he asked, if not almost begged for him to agree to that. "We want and need to work together Nico."

 

“That was the idea I came in here with.” A light breath and he was rubbing at his eyes before yawning a moment. “Knowing you and your penchant for being stubborn on letting me work on my own” His gaze staring up but becoming sleepy, hades was it really this easy to let go? “I was going to come every couple of nights, I’m sure Hazel put you up to IMing her every last thing… but just tell her I’m fine, please? IMs for Reyna and myself have been restricted for now so… I’ll keep checking like this. Don’t abuse it.”

 

Jason nodded, happy that Nico was yawning, hoping that meant he would sleep for real. He patted his shoulder, "Don't worry Nico, I'll keep her updated. She's very worried about you. Oh and when we meet up, we have something for you and Reyna. Tyson made all of us something to help us out."

 

He laughed at Nico's last comment, "Don't worry, we'll not contact you any other way unless it's an emergency okay?"

 

“I mean there literally is no other way I can contact you.”

 

He rolled over and let off another yawn, rubbing at his eyes. He shook himself some in an effort to wake up a bit more, regain some awareness. “I…” He stopped, looking uncertain and hesitating slightly in what appeared to be a worry of revealing too much. “Don’t ask me for detail but… something,” Or actually someone. “, Told me that I was sealed from receiving and sending IMs for some reason. And by extension, Reyna is as well for as long as she’s with me. I don’t understand it but…” That’s the best explanation he had.

 

Jason frowned, "So whatever it is we're after, they know we are coming for it? That's not a good thing...." He sighed and laid down on the sand beside Nico.

 

"Please contact us as often as possible so we don't worry too much okay? Even if you're being stubborn, we're going to try to get to you two as soon as possible." Jason promised, talking a bit lower so that maybe it would calm Nico down a bit. "We have a way to help us get there faster than normal, so remember, we're coming to help."

 

 

“I don’t know, but whatever it is… be careful yourselves if you absolutely _have_ to come too. I don’t want to… hear about something happening to you both…” Or inadvertently cause either of the two to sacrifice for him either. Whatever else, he wanted to be sure they understood that they cannot die, no matter what. Or they wouldn’t be happy with his solution…

 

“And I’ve said, this is the only way I can do it… I can’t do it often either.” He’s yawning again, rubbing at his eyes with a small groan of dissent. “And I can’t stay much longer either…” He added in a mumble with a quiet sigh.

 

Jason listened to Nico, nodding, "Get some sleep then, I'm sure you need it, you've been traveling longer and faster then we have." He sighed as he glanced at him, "Look, Nico, we're going to be careful. I can't promise we won't get injured, comes with being a demigod. But I promise we'll be fine, and survive all of this, and meet up with you."

 

He ruffled Nico's hair, knowing he might get annoyed, but he couldn't it, "Just take care of yourselves until we catch up and we'll take down whatever we're going after as a team."

 

A faint sigh left Nico’s lips before he rolled to his side, not looking at him. Assure him as much as you want, but this is something he always worries about. Despite insistences that everything would be fine… he never stops to believe it, because there’s really no guarantee of that. “No promises.” And that was all Jason was going to get… so he’s going to have to work with it if he _insists_ on being stubborn himself with this.

 

As for the ruffling, Nico could only managed a bleary glare, too tired to even push the hand away. Soon after that though… he was out like a light. No more conversation will come from him tonight… and soon after that he’d begun to fade, consciousness truly disappearing into sleep patterns alone.

 

Jason just sighed, knowing that that was better than a no at least. He watched Nico for a few minutes as he fading, hoping that meant he'd end up in a dream that wasn't to terrible.

 

He laid back on the sand of his own dream, closing his eyes, hoping to go into a dreamless sleep for a bit. It was peaceful for a bit until he slower felt his eyes open because of a slight distant sound. When his eyes opened again, he realized he was back on his bed, he looked toward where the noise was coming from, blinking tiredly as he saw restless movement on the other half of the room.

* * *

 

While Nico and Jason had been talking within the blond’s dream, Percy was undergoing the horrors Nico had suspected him to be as he slept. The younger male made the right choice in all honesty. Current dream horrors including: Tartarus, Annabeth, Misery, Annabeth, Tartarus, Tartarus, Tartarus, Annabeth, _Annabeth_.

In other words… he really was not doing well at all.

He thrashed and clawed at the sheets, tossing and turning while becoming completely drenched in a cold sweat as he couldn’t find it within himself to wake up, no matter how much he wanted to. It was terrifying and utterly _terrible_. He nearly screamed several times, but for some reason… it didn’t raise into his voice. All that fell from his lips were mumbles and murmurs scattered with groans and horrible horrible whimpers and whines of little else.

It didn’t help that the more he thrashed the more the sheets wound and tightened around his form, just adding to his nightmares rather than leaving them alone like he would have wanted them to.

Tonight's were the worst he's had so far.

 

Jason's eyes slowly widened more as his brain finally caught up to what was happening, "Crap... Percy!" He said as he slid out of bed over to Percy, not wanting to spook him. He put his hands on Percy's shoulders, shaking him lightly.

 

"Percy, Percy it's okay, we're in a hotel, you're just dreaming. Come on man, wake up and I'll tell you all about what I just dreamed?" he said as comfortingly as possible. He still wasn't sure how best to handle when his friend had nightmares, so he hoped that his sitting beside him while he did would somehow calm him down.

 

"Come on, wake up and I'll tell you about how Nico and Reyna are okay for now?" he hoped if he let him know their friends were doing alright that it would help him.

 

Percy thrashed around a bit longer, still stuck in his dream despite the blond’s efforts. His arms flailed from the shaking and potentially smacked into a few fairly vital areas before he came awake with an abrupt startle and nearly collided their heads together from the force of it. He blinked a few times, eyes wide and terrified before he registered Jason and the other’s murmuring voice. “H-huh…? I…” He blinked a few times, rubbing at his face before averting his gaze from the taller male. “Sorry.” He mumbled, still bothered by his nightmares and feeling bad that he’d woken Jason.

 

Jason winced a bit but stayed quiet until he was sure Percy was calm. "It's fine man, you were having nightmares yeah, but I wasn't sleeping much anyway. So don't worry about it."

 

He shifted a bit looking Percy over to see if he seemed okay, "Actually my mind was wide awake anyway; Nico dream walked me or whatever. Tried to convince me we should turn back, naturally I told him no way." he explained a bit of what was said to calm Percy hopefully. Then he got quiet, nudging Percy to comment on what Jason had learned, or his nightmares, whichever felt more comfortable. "Apparently he's been having bad dreams also," he added to seem like it was just a side thought.

 

“I know.” He’d been helping him with his own occasionally… but only when they got really bad. A few more minutes of the raven waiting for his heartbeat to slow passed before he leaned forwards a little to rest his forehead against the blond’s chest. If it had been any other situation, any other time, he probably wouldn’t have but… the nightmares had been bad, and he was pretty much drained after waking from them. Jason’s chest was a solid warm surface… he just needed to take a moment to finish recovering from them.

That was all.

 

Jason didn't say anything during this time, but felt his own worried frown go away when Percy relaxed a bit. He waited a few more moments before speaking, but careful placed a hand on Percy's head. He just let him sit there for a while. When he finally spoke he decided to tell him more about what was said, thinking it would help take his mind off of it.

 

"So from what he told me, he may actually slow down a bit, but this is Nico, and he is with someone equally as stubborn, so who knows," He paused trying to find out what else he could say to distract him, "Want to try out Leo's scooter tomorrow to cover a bit more ground? Might be fun."

 

Percy’s eyes closed with the hand being placed on his head and he simply nodded as a response to the taller’s comment. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t be very comfortable struggling in dealing with Tempest’s dislike for him.

 

Not after those nightmares.

 

His breaths and heartbeat did steadily even out as he rested against the other and soon enough he’d be ready to pull back but…

 

Maybe…

 

He could stay like this a little longer?

 

He didn’t quite understand it, personally, but Percy was finding it very hard to not fall back asleep right here… just like this. It was strange but… he just wanted to be close with someone for the rest of the night. But how was he going to be able to communicate that to Jason without the blond getting… weirded by it or something? Like the raven knew it was an odd… and somewhat strange desire but, Jason was warm and comforting.

 

Something he _needed_ after revisiting old horrors…

 

But with a soft and barely audible sigh, Percy opened his eyes and pulled back, aiming a sheepish smile Jason’s way afterwards.

 

“Thanks Man.”

 

"Hey, it's no problem, just wish I was able to help before they happened," Jason told him with a nod, having not moved himself. He looked Percy over a bit.

 

"Are you feeling any better now?" he asked as folded his legs, worry clear on his face. "If there is any way I can help you or anything I can get you, let me know... I don't think I'll ever understand your nightmares, I wasn't there so if you need anything let me help you that way." He always felt a bit sick in his stomach when he tried to imagine what the two of them had seen down there and he was seriously glad he didn't know.

 

The raven adjusted and nodded before running a hand through his hair, gaze shifting down and remaining on the sheets while he twisted the top one a few times to keep himself from fidgeting too much.

 

Honestly he had an urge to lean back into the other male but… he just… he didn’t understand it. It was… new… and just… confusing. So Percy simply pushed it to the back of his mind for now and settled back on the bed so he could look at the ceiling for a bit. He was pretty sure he was going to take a bit to fall asleep at this point but…

 

Well… he had the thought to try _talking_ a little or something but he also was still a little hesitant from not wanting to bother Jason with it.

 

But… well… he could at least say _something_ on what Jason could do. As it was impossible to stop the dreams before they come.

 

“I… well… there’s not a lot anyone can do to stop them _before_ they come… but… I mean… what you just did. Uh… that helped a little? Like… being around… _us_ … when that happens. It helps.” He was pretty sure being around someone else helped Nico too so…

 

Jason listed to what Percy was saying, and sort of got it, "I guess that makes sense? The closer someone you have by the better," he nodded as he understood it.

 

"If you want, I can sit here for a bit until you get back to sleep," he offered. He honestly hated seeing his friends like that, and even though he could only help one of them with it right now, he would do his best. The more he hung around Percy lately, the more he wanted to try to be there for him. It was strange but it's what he felt he needed to do.

 

“Wh… what time is it?” If it was like… five or six already it doesn’t matter if he tried to sleep again anyway, since it wouldn’t be long before they should get going. But if it was only around three or so he could try… though he’s not certain if that’d work either but still… it could be a little better.

 

Jason glanced as the nearest clock, "Seems about five thirty, we've got a bit longer before we need to head out, maybe take showers and eat something first." he suggested, stretching a bit, "You take first shower and I'll get food? Might help you relax a bit more from your nightmare... if you want to sleep longer though, we can leave an hour or two later."

 

Percy shook his head. “Wouldn’t help if it’s that early anyway.” He mumbled, running a hand through his hair and rolling to get up and out of the bed. He cast a small glance at Jason, seeming to want to say something before he shook his head and trotted into the bathroom after grabbing a spare set of clothing.

 

Jason watched him for a moment, curious as to what he had wanted before getting up and putting his shoes on, "I'll bring back some food, don't worry I won't be gone to long, if an emergency use the shower to Iris message to contact me and I'll be back here in an instant." he said as he headed down hoping to find something pretty fast.

 

The raven nodded, yawning a little and rubbing at his eyes before continuing into the bathroom.

 

Jason was thankful that they had a small breakfast thing included with where they found to stay, he quickly fixed take away containers for both. He wanted to be there if Percy needed to talk more.

* * *

 

Percy sighed as soon as he stepped under the water within the shower, his forehead pressed against the cool tile as the pit pat of the revitalizing liquid beat a rhythm against his bare back. What was that earlier…? He didn’t really know but… something weird had possessed him that moment when he looked back at Jason… it was really… strange.

 

That thought aside though… he gave a small sigh of relief while the water relaxed his tensed muscles and he allowed himself to reflect on the bare traces he could remember from his nightmare. It was sort of indistinct by now… but still utterly horrifying.

 

He’s not sure what might have happened to him if Jason hadn’t woken him up actually. It was a bad one… a really bad one… and it kind of had him afraid for their friends who were already so far ahead of them. He was relieved that Nico had contacted Jason but… also… a little jealous too.

 

He knew _why_ Nico had avoided his dreams but it still… bothered him. Not that he wished for Nico to revisit his **own** nightmares within the raven’s but… he shook his head, shaking the thought away.

 

‘ _Stop it, Jackson._ ’

 

He silently scolded himself before refocusing on the water and the soothing effect it was having on his body. Ahh… it felt nice… really nice… comforting and relaxing. It was completely easing his tensed form into something more loose and comfortable. Yeah… the shower had been the perfect idea. He’d have to thank Jason later after the blond returned and he got out and got dressed.

* * *

 

As he started heading back up to their room, Jason contemplated over everything that had happened, they had a long way to go to catch up with Nico and Reyna, and even though Nico hadn't said it, Jason could sense they were needed despite the protests against it.

 

Yet... after seeing how Bad Percy's dream had been, he was really hoping they would be able to at least take a few more breaks then the day before, Percy needed rest now more than anything after that.

 

He sighed as he got back to the room, balancing their food as he opened the door, 'Hopefully eating will help him.... wish I could make sure Nico was getting to eat at regular times with their speed as well..."

* * *

 

Percy had left the shower and gotten dressed by the time Jason returned. Currently, he was sprawled on the bed waiting for him… and was up fairly quick the minute the door opened. “Hey.” He was actually kind of starving now so the prospect of food was something that had him brighten considerably compared to when Jason had left to get the food in the first place.

 

Jason smiled a bit, sitting down beside him and handing him his food, "Didn't have to much to choose from, so got what I could." he explained, opening up his own. "So how are you feeling now that you had a dose of your element?"

 

The raven dug into his food pretty quickly as the other spoke. He held up his hand in a ‘wait’ motion before he swallowed his first few bites of the food and took a drink. “Better. Still tired but better.” He yawned and went back to eating, practically scarfing the whole meal down in about fifteen-twenty minutes. Yes… he had been hungry.

 

Jason chuckled as he watched him eat, eating a bit slower himself, "Well at least your appetite is okay." he said as he started gathering his stuff, "How far do you think we'll be able to cover today? Though I suggest three more rest breaks at the least so we aren't as exhausted."

 

Percy paused after he finished, glancing down a little and slightly away from Jason. “Food… it helps too.” He paused again, scratching a little at the sheets beneath him. “I mean… there wasn’t any… down _there_. So…” He trailed off, picking at the cloth and shifting a bit uncomfortably. It’s not that he minded mentioning that… it’s just he was afraid it’d bother Jason to know **why**.

 

Jason nodded, "I can understand why that would be a comfort then, a good reminder that you _are_ here." he smiled at him, trying to make it more relaxed, "I could always pinch you if it would help you know this is reality or something?" He stood up after his suggestion and started gathering everything of theirs up.

 

The raven shook his head a little. “It’s fine. Just… y’know. A lot helps I guess… or something. Kinda hard to explain.” Percy stood as well, letting loose one last yawn. “You go take your shower… I’ll finish cleaning up. Okay?”

 

Jason nodded, getting a new pair of clothes, "Alright, I won't be long," he said as he headed into the bathroom. He had to admit he shower was a good place to think and regroup his thoughts. He needed to help Percy, but first they needed to prioritize finding Nico and Reyna. He sighed as he shook water out of his hair, he really did know he needed to focus on that.

 

Percy focused on cleaning up as the other took his shower. He was actually being fairly organized about it too. Grabbing their stuff to repack, throwing away garbage, all that and more. Just letting the monotonous tasks relax him all the more. It was a nice thing to help himself finish settling his thoughts and ready for the day ahead. He could agree a couple extra rest points might be a good idea though.

 

Jason came out a few minutes later after drying off, still drying his hair, "Sorry if I was in there to long, need any help with the rest?" he asked as he dropped the towel into the bathroom. He looked around, smiling that this seemed to have perked Percy up just a bit.

 

Percy shook his head and let loose a smile of his own. “Nope, we’re all set so… as soon as you’re ready we can go. The stops idea is a good one too. I mean… I am worried about them but… we do… kinda need to be in top condition in order to help them if they’re in trouble by the time we catch up. Even though at the same time, I kind of don’t like being slower than what we want to… if that makes sense?”

 

"No. I understand, because every break it's going to make us wish we were out there" Jason smiled, because he really did get it. "But like you said, we'll be better for them if we reach them well rested, besides twenty extra minutes or so won't hurt if we use part of the time to plan our path."

 

“Yeah, I guess so. C’mon then. Let’s get going.” Percy stood, stretched, and started for the door as soon as he grabbed up his bag. He motioned for Jason to follow after him and then moved towards the hotel exit soon after that.

 

Jason stretched as he looked around outside the hotel, looking over the map they'd gotten from Ella and Hazel, "Come on, let’s head out this way, seems the easiest to avoid monsters in the city if any."

 

“Yeah, you lead?”

 

Percy stated, waving Jason on ahead as he looked around a bit with a mild sigh.

 

They had a long road ahead of them… he just hoped Nico and Reyna would be okay till they got to them...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed that and that it made up for the particularly lengthy wait time!! 
> 
> See you guys next chapter~

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! M here to tie off the chapter with a little note! 
> 
> Given how long this chapter turned out to be and the fact there are two of us here working on this fic, I have to let you all know our updates would likely end up being on a Bi-Weekly scheduling. Still, we hope you enjoyed this beginning chapter and feel free to leave any comments or constructive criticism below! This is the first time the two of us are trying our hands at writing a full length chaptered fic together. So please go easy on us and I hope all of you have a nice day/night!
> 
>  
> 
> ~~andthatyouforgiveusforthatRick-likeending ahhahaha---~~


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